


I like you a late

by MoonTearChild



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:15:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25694887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonTearChild/pseuds/MoonTearChild
Summary: Tae Joon is a barista in a small coffee store, and a local bartender and frequent patron has caught his attention.
Relationships: Crypto | Park Tae Joon/Mirage | Elliott Witt
Comments: 4
Kudos: 82





	I like you a late

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EnEss_Caity](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnEss_Caity/gifts).



It was busy, as it always tended to be this early in the morning. Commuters lined up outside the door, and a frantic rush to take and tend to orders. Tae Joon hated the morning shift, hated the pace and demand that came with juggling cups of coffee and tea and hot chocolate between even more orders from angry office workers, but there was one thing that made it all a little better…

  
  


It had all started a while ago, a few weeks into this new job, because college didn’t pay for itself after all. He was working the morning shift, after finally finishing the backlog of orders and now he was trying to clean the machines. That is, until there’s the all too familiar sound of a bell ringing behind him, and he feels like shoving said bell somewhere unsanitary for this customer. And then he turns, smiling his customer service smile, and walks over. The man awaiting his service was handsome, or at least he would be if he didn’t look so scruffy. His hair was a mess of curls that hung over his face, dark circles under his eyes, he looked painfully tired, and hungover too. It wasn’t an unusual sight; after all, it was Monday morning, and he always had a few patrons that had indulged a little too hard the night previous. 

“Mornin’, can I get uhhh…” The man squints tiredly up at the menu, pouting a little as he thinks, and Tae Joon finds himself oddly enamoured. And then he slaps himself on the wrist because he was getting minimum wage and that certainly wasn’t enough to warrant fussing over yet another half-drunken customer. “A mocha with an expresso shot, please?” He asks, and Tae Joon processes the order with a nod. 

“Anything else?” He asks, and the man shakes his head. Okay, easy enough. The place was short staffed at the best of times, but he was getting the hang of things now, and the morning commuters had almost entirely trickled off to work. He’s halfway through making the drink when he surprises himself by speaking up. “Rough night?” He asks, and the man on the other side of the counter chuckles.

“Wouldn’t you know it. I run the bar next door, and even when I’m not working, the music keeps me up until closing.”

Tae Joon pours the expresso shot into the take out cup, and turns back to the customer with a raised brow. 

“I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to drink with the customers, Mr…?”

“Witt. Elliott Witt. And hey, you’re probably right, but fuck if it isn’t a good time.” He laughs again, that deep raspy chuckle and Tae Joon’s stomach flips. Elliott’s hand brushes his when he takes the drink, and leaves his money on the counter. “Keep the change, ‘kay?” He winks, and then he’s gone. Tae admires the note while checking if it’s genuine, because this wasn’t the most reputable area, and the man had left a  _ seventeen dollar tip _ .

  
  


And now he waits as the clock ticks the minutes by, because if the time was anything to go from, then Elliott should be here soon.

It seems when the man arrives that he had done a shift last night, because he looked painfully tired. His hair was a little more ruffled and messy than usual, and his eyes boasted dark circles. His voice is low and hoarse as he speaks.

"Mornin' sunshine, think I might have had a little too much last night." He yawns, and Tae Joon smiles. Okay, so there was that too. The nickname. It was pretty nice, made him feel a little warmer inside, and it never failed to put a blush on his cheeks either. 

"What'll it be, Elliott?" He asks, voice perhaps a little softer than it was for the other customers, and if his coworkers noticed, they didn't say anything. Much. Now at least - they had bullied him relentlessly for his crush on the cute guy for a good few days when they had figured it out, pushing him forward to take Elliott’s order and so it had become almost a ritual. One Tae Joon was more than happy to partake in, of course. 

"Ah, I'm thinkin' spice up my usual a little. Mocha with a triple expresso shot, please?" He asks, and Tae Joon can't help but raise a brow, smiling fondly at the man.

“Cocaine would be faster.” he retorts, and Elliott can't help but laugh, shooting him that sweet lopsided grin Tae Joon had come to love so damn much.

“Why, you know a guy?" He asks, and then clears his throat. "Uh, t-that was a- uh, a joke, by the way." The man stammers and Tae Joon simply watches him flush. "We get enough shady characters around my bar sometimes- um, n-not that it's not safe! Uh… Y-You should… Visit some time. Drinks on me?" 

Watching the man stutter and grow increasingly more flustered was cute, and Tae Joon couldn't help but smile. He had debated going to Elliott's bar after a shift at some point, after all, it was only next door, but it felt wrong somehow, like it would ruin the sanctity of the arrangement they had built up. But now that he had been invited, perhaps he would go sometime. 

"Maybe. My thesis doesn't write itself though." He jokes, and turns to begin making the drink. The mocha was ready in no time at all, but the espresso machine was being… Troublesome. "Damnit. Uh, apologies… The machine is being stubborn. It may take a while for your drink." He sighs, turning back to Elliott with an apologetic look.

"Ah. Hey, it's no problem, I'm not goin' anywhere." He yawns again, and leans his arm against the countertop. "Besides, gives us a chance to talk, right? What do you study?" 

Tae is oddly flattered by the man's interest in him, having just assumed his crush was one sided, but this seemed to prove otherwise, right? He hoped he wasn't getting his hopes up, and tries his damndest to come across casually. 

"Computer science, I focus mainly on programming and software development, however. This job is only part time, I have a contract set up for once I graduate to-" 

He's cut off by Elliott reaching for his pocket, pulling out his phone, and he frowns.

"Sorry kid, gotta take this, one sec." He says, and then answers, holding the mobile up to his ear. "Yeah? Is it important? Okay, sure." He speaks into the device, and then looks over to Tae Joon. "I gotta take this, sorry. I'll just be outside." He sighs, and turns on his heel to continue the call. Tae Joon tries his best not to look hurt, but that's exceptionally difficult. The first opportunity they'd had to talk properly, and they were interrupted. He sighs, turning to the espresso machine and gives it a hearty thump with his fist, which seems to do the job in fixing it, and it gurgles out the coffee. He supposed the least he could do for making Elliott wait around would be to remake his mocha too, since it was practically cold, and begins the process all over again. 

Once Elliott’s coffee is poured, sugar and cream added to his liking, Tae Joon notices the man hadn't returned yet, still on the phone outside, he presumed. He finds himself staring at the cup, chewing his lip, and before he loses the courage, he's picking up the marker from the countertop that would typically be used to write names onto the take out cups, and he begins to write. It wouldn't do any harm, right? Sure, it was a little unprofessional, but this wasn’t a serious job, it's not like Elliott would complain to his manager, right? He's about to start doubting himself, debating whether or not to add a new label to the cup when Elliott comes back inside, and Tae Joon supposes there was no time to back out now… 

He was going to give Elliott Witt his number. 

"Sorry about that, one of my employees messed up a shipment, gotta run." He sighs, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. Tae Joon shoots him a sympathetic smile.

"Sounds bad… Um… Here's your coffee Elliott… Have a good day." He mumbles, and the man smiles at him in a way that makes his heart race. 

"Will do now that you told me to, Tae Joon. Have a good day yourself, yeah? I'll be back tomorrow." He hands the man a twenty once more, shooting him a wink and a nod. "Keep the change." He says, and leaves with his coffee in hand. 

Tae Joon all but collapses against the counter when the man leaves, taking several deep breaths to calm himself, money clutched against his chest. Luckily he was the only one working that day, so nobody could see him acting like a lovesick fool. But he had work to do, even more so now that the espresso machine was broken, he had to call his boss and explain. But he takes a moment to simply start down at the cash in his hand, unable to stop the smile that pulls at his lips. And then he sees it, the number hastily scribbled on the bill

_ Call me? - E.W. _


End file.
